Move Earth

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• Level: 6
• School: Transmutation
• Class: Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
• Casting Time: Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S, M (a miniature shovel)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 2 hours

Choose an area of terrain no larger than 40 feet on a side within range. You can reshape dirt, sand, or clay in the area in any manner you choose for the duration. You can raise or lower the area's elevation, create or fill in a trench, erect or flatten a wall, or form a pillar. The extent of any such changes can't exceed half the area's largest dimension. For example, if you affect a 40-foot square, you can create a pillar up to 20 feet high, raise or lower the square's elevation by up to 20 feet, dig a trench up to 20 feet deep, and so on. It takes 10 minutes for these changes to complete. Because the terrain's transformation occurs slowly, creatures in the area can't usually be trapped or injured by the ground's movement.

At the end of every 10 minutes you spend concentrating on the spell, you can choose a new area of terrain to affect within range.

This spell can't manipulate natural stone or stone construction. Rocks and structures shift to accommodate the new terrain. If the way you shape the terrain would make a structure unstable, it might collapse.

Similarly, this spell doesn't directly affect plant growth. The moved earth carries any plants along with it.

Tactical Usage

Move Earth provides unparalleled environmental manipulation capabilities that can reshape entire battlefields and create permanent strategic advantages. The 40-foot square area and 20-foot maximum elevation changes allow significant terrain modification that affects movement, visibility, and tactical positioning.

Defensive fortification excels through trench creation, wall construction, and elevated positions that provide cover and strategic advantages. Siege preparation benefits enormously from rapid earthwork construction that would normally require weeks of manual labor and extensive resources.

Enemy access control works through blocking passages, creating obstacles, and establishing chokepoints that funnel enemies into prepared positions. Bridge destruction and road blocking can significantly impact enemy logistics and movement capabilities throughout extended conflicts.

Spell Combinations

Move Earth synergizes powerfully with stone manipulation spells like Stone Shape and Wall of Stone to create comprehensive fortifications that combine earth and stone elements. Mold Earth cantrip provides fine detail work that complements large-scale terrain modification.

Area control benefits from combining with plant growth spells that secure modified terrain through root systems and vegetation barriers. Entangle and Spike Growth can make modified terrain even more defensible and tactically advantageous.

Military engineering improves through water control spells like Control Water that manage drainage and irrigation for modified terrain. Create Food and Water supports extended construction projects that require sustained effort and resource management.

Material Component Details

Move Earth requires a miniature shovel as its material component, symbolically representing the digging and earthwork that the spell accomplishes through magical acceleration and enhancement. Toy shovels, ceremonial tools, or crafted miniatures all serve the mechanical requirements.

Component durability means the shovel can be reused repeatedly for multiple castings, making it a one-time investment that provides ongoing utility throughout adventuring careers. Material quality doesn't affect spell effectiveness, though ceremonial significance might hold personal importance.

Symbolic connection between the miniature tool and massive earthwork reflects the sympathetic magic principles underlying transmutation effects. Personal crafting or inherited tools might provide emotional connection that enhances the spellcasting experience.

Creator Notes

Move Earth presents significant encounter design challenges as it can bypass intended obstacles, create new tactical advantages, and permanently alter adventure environments. Player creativity often exceeds initial expectations for terrain manipulation applications.

Time investment through 10-minute modification periods and 2-hour concentration duration means this spell typically serves strategic planning rather than immediate tactical needs. Long-term consequences require consideration of permanent environmental changes.

Structural considerations around building stability and geological effects provide narrative opportunities and mechanical limitations that prevent completely unrestricted terrain modification. Engineering knowledge becomes relevant for safe and effective earthwork.

Environmental Interactions

Move Earth affects dirt, sand, and clay exclusively, preventing manipulation of rock, stone, or constructed materials. Natural stone and artificial construction shift to accommodate changes but cannot be directly controlled through spell effects.

Plant life moves with the affected earth, allowing transplantation and landscape modification that preserves existing vegetation. Agricultural applications benefit from field reshaping and irrigation projects that improve farming productivity and land use.

Water interaction requires consideration of drainage patterns, underground water tables, and erosion effects that might result from elevation changes. Flooding prevention or water management might require additional magical or mundane engineering solutions.

Common Rulings & Clarifications

Area limitations restrict changes to 40-foot squares with maximum depth/height equal to half the area's largest dimension. Multiple castings can affect adjacent areas for larger projects, though concentration requirements mean sequential application rather than simultaneous modification.

Gradual change over 10-minute periods prevents creature trapping or instant damage through terrain modification. Creatures can move away or adapt positioning as changes occur, though they might be displaced by significant elevation alterations.

Material restrictions mean bedrock, stone foundations, and masonry construction remain unaffected by direct spell effects. Structural damage might occur if supporting earth is removed, but buildings and stone structures shift rather than being directly manipulated.

Concentration maintenance allows new area selection every 10 minutes, enabling large-scale projects through sustained effort. Interruption ends active modifications but doesn't reverse completed changes, making partial projects permanent.

Alternative Applications

Military engineering benefits enormously from rapid fortification, siege preparation, and battlefield modification that provides strategic advantages in large-scale conflicts. Trench systems, defensive walls, and artillery positions can be constructed quickly.

Agricultural improvement includes field leveling, irrigation channel creation, and soil management that enhances farming productivity and land utilization. Terraforming projects can convert marginal land into productive agricultural resources.

Infrastructure development gains powerful tools for road construction, foundation preparation, and drainage projects that support community development and economic growth. Mining operations benefit from access tunnel creation and site preparation.

Related Spells

Earth manipulation magic includes Mold Earth for small-scale changes, Stone Shape for rock modification, and Earthquake for destructive rather than constructive earth effects. Transmute Rock provides material conversion rather than repositioning.

Construction magic connects to Wall spells for instant barriers, Fabricate for object creation, and Creation for temporary materials. Major Image can preview proposed changes before committing resources to permanent modification.

Environmental control spells like Control Weather, Plant Growth, and Control Water provide comprehensive landscape management when combined with earth manipulation for complete environmental engineering projects.

Scaling Analysis

Move Earth does not scale with higher-level spell slots as it already provides maximum area and elevation change appropriate for 6th-level magic. Multiple castings provide extended area coverage rather than enhanced individual effects.

Strategic value scales with project scope and time availability for sustained concentration. Long-term planning maximizes utility through comprehensive earthwork projects that reshape entire tactical landscapes and strategic positions.

Resource efficiency improves with party coordination that provides concentration protection and complementary magic for comprehensive environmental modification. Engineering expertise enhances practical applications and structural safety considerations.

Narrative Flavor

Move Earth manifestation should emphasize the gradual but inexorable nature of magical terrain modification. Earth movement appears natural and fluid rather than violent or destructive, reflecting harmony with natural forces rather than domination over them.

Progressive change over 10-minute periods allows detailed description of earth flowing, hills rising, and valleys forming through controlled geological processes. Peaceful transformation contrasts with destructive earth magic like Earthquake.

Scale appreciation requires emphasizing the significant area coverage and permanent changes being accomplished through sustained magical effort. Landscape architecture and environmental artistry reflect the caster's vision and connection to elemental earth forces and natural harmony.